Research conducted by Prestwood looking at who is the decision-maker when it comes to financial concerns within a family has revealed that times have changed and that men no longer rule the roost.
Prestwood asked their Financial Planner users, who usually made the financial decision within couples? The results on the whole show that men and women are equal when it comes to financial planning.
50 per cent of clients tended to discuss and make financial planning decisions equally between couples; however, a quarter of the married clients left it to the man to make the final decisions.
With more women having a greater say in the managing and investing of a family’s financial assets, it’s time that Financial Planners built this specifically into their business plans.
Paul Etheridge, Chair of Prestwood, said:
“Not only are women having greater influence over the family assets, they tend to live longer than their husbands. So even if they are not in control of the family assets while their husbands are alive, they gain sole control once they become widows. To ignore such a crucial section of your client bank is frankly amateurish.
Most Financial Planners are male and in their 50’s. We need more female Financial Planners coming into the profession and perhaps then we will see proper targeting of women as potential clients.”
